Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 25, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A15 winnipegfreepress. com WORLD WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013 A 15 76 EXCITING LOCATIONS ACROSS CANADA OR VISIT US AT www. leons. ca * Before taxes. Does not apply to previous purchases/ price guarantees or special orders. Discount already included in the price of all appliances and TVs. See store for details. Valid until July 28th. ** O. A. C. Total purchase including all applicable taxes, disposable surcharges where applicable and a processing fee of $ 89.95 ( Eg. $ 1500 purchase with $ 89.95 PF equals an APR of 4.0%) are due 18 months from the date of purchase. To celebrate the spirit of the summer season, the management and associates of Leon's Furniture cordially invite you to take advantage of these amazing offers during our Friends and Family Summer Sale! THURSDAY JULY 25TH TO SUNDAY JULY 28TH ONLY! SUMMER SALE F R I E N D S & F A M I L Y 4 D A Y S O N L Y ! PAY NOTHING! 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" There was the assumption that black people, Latino people, inner- city people are inherently violent, and that's the farthest thing from the truth," says Kevin Powell, whose BK Nation advocacy group helped organize peaceful marches involving thousands of people in New York City. " They need to stop racially stereotyping people," Powell says. " It's the same thing George Zimmerman was engaging in. To automatically assume an explosion from the Zimmerman verdict - I don't think they understand black people." The talk of violence originated long before the verdict with some conservative commentators, who said riots should be blamed on liberals who distorted facts to make Zimmerman look guilty. " Media's dishonest motives in Trayvon Martin case could end in riots," read one headline on Glenn Beck's website. Speculation intensified when news broke Florida police were preparing for possible unrest. Pundits highlighted dozens of tweets from average citizens threatening violence if Zimmerman was acquitted. Reminders circulated about a handful of " this is for Trayvon" assaults by black people when the case first gained national notice. " I fully expect organized race rioting to begin in every major city to dwarf the Rodney King and the Martin Luther King riots," wrote former police officer Paul Huebl. " If you live in a large city be prepared to evacuate or put up a fight to win. You will need firearms, fire suppression equipment along with lots of food and water." In the week after the verdict, amid peaceful protests involving tens of thousands of people across the country, there was some violence. In Oakland, protesters broke windows, vandalized a police car and started street fires. In Los Angeles, people splintered off two peaceful protests to smash windows, set fires, attack pedestrians, and assault police with rocks and bottles. About 50 teenagers took the subway to Hollywood to rob pedestrians; 12 were arrested. Individual attacks were reported in Mississippi, Milwaukee and Baltimore, where black people were accused of assaulting two white people and a Hispanic person in Martin's name. Overall, the response to the Zimmerman verdict was nothing like the massive 1992 Los Angeles uprising that killed 53 people, injured more than 2,000 and caused $ 1 billion in damage after police officers were acquitted in the Rodney King beating. And there was no comparison with the 1960s riots that struck cities across the United States in response to oppression of African- Americans and the assassination of Martin Luther King. The ' 60s riots sprang from a sense of deep frustration that progress was being thwarted, says Max Krochmal, a history professor at Texas Christian University. " They saw the limits to what they could achieve," Krochmal says. President Barack Obama, who spoke emotionally after the verdict about the frustrations many African- Americans felt over the verdict, is a reminder that limits have been lifted. - The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Tracy Martin, the father of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, urged Congress on Wednesday to improve the educational and employment opportunities of black American boys and men, who are disproportionately imprisoned and unemployed. " I always say that Trayvon was my hero," said Martin. " He saved my life and not to be there in his time of need is real troublesome." When he was nine, Trayvon Martin pulled his immobilized father from a fire that started in their kitchen, called 911 and saved his life. Martin, who recently started an antigun violence foundation with Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said U. S. President Barack Obama's impromptu remarks Friday, during which he shared his own experiences with racial stereotypes, " spark( ed) a conversation in every household." " That conversation is what can we do as parents, what can we do as men, what we can do as fathers, what we can do as mentors, to stop this from happening to your child," Martin said. Martin attended a meeting on the issues facing black boys, youth and men organized by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D- D. C., and Rep. Danny Davis, D- Ill., co- chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys. Panelists spoke of the need to improve access to early childhood education and job- training for all young people, and particularly black and Latino males. Black males are incarcerated at a rate more than nine times higher than white males among prisoners 18 to 19, according to 2011 Bureau of Justice figures. - Tribune Washington Bureau Trayvon's dad urges U. S. Congress to help young black males Riots never came By Jesse Washington A_ 15_ Jul- 25- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A15 7/ 24/ 13 10: 37: 39 PM ;